Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Damariscotta’s building-damage rate from ice storms is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Damariscotta gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (40%), then hurricanes (35%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Damariscotta faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Ice storms
Coastal flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Damariscotta’s grade
River and rain flooding is 40% of the building damage FEMA expects in Damariscotta, and Damariscotta’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 11%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Damariscotta’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $610K a year in losses across Damariscotta: $526K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Damariscotta flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Damariscotta, from FEMA’s records: 5.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 62% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Damariscotta isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lincoln County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Damariscotta
Disasters that paid out in Damariscotta itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Damariscotta), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$300 aid approved$4K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$4K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$15K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$2K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$3K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$9K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs
Show all 7
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding3 households applied for aid$157 aid approved$28K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs
Lincoln County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Damariscotta after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Damariscotta archive →Damariscotta and its neighbors
Damariscotta is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waldoboro | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Nobleboro | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Damariscotta | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Bristol | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 22 |
| Newcastle | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Bremen | — | 917 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Damariscotta faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Damariscotta
Is Damariscotta at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Damariscotta has lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (40%) and hurricanes (35%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Damariscotta flood?
Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Damariscotta since 1978, $96K in all, or 5.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 62% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Damariscotta in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Lincoln County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Damariscotta?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Damariscotta’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Damariscotta?
By FEMA money that reached Damariscotta, Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding (2007): 3 households applied for aid, $157 approved, and $28K to the Town of Damariscotta for repairs.
Is Damariscotta at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (40%), and Damariscotta’s rate for it is lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Damariscotta.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Damariscotta’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.